We know sweet treats are mandatory during Chinese New Year. But what if you’re just, er, a ‘salty’ person? Besides, all that nibbling on sugary tidbits can get cloying after a while. So we’ve rounded up 10 savoury goodies (that's not bak kwa) for your snacking consideration.

The chef-owner behind Ah Tan Wings, a hawker stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre which went viral for its tasty har cheong gai, teamed up with his banker pal to set up snack brand Wok Wok, offering the zi char dish-inspired, cereal prawn-flavoured potato chips. The thin potato slivers are crispy and shiok enough, though we couldn’t really taste much prawn flavour. And it’s a tad sweet. But we did enjoy scarfing down the generous amount of cereal flakes in our packet, just like a platter of cereal prawns.

Old Chang Kee launched a nasi lemak curry puff last year to rave reviews, so it’s unsurprising that the local snack chain introduced these nasi lemak cookies. We quite like the texture of the cookie; it’s crispy with a delicate bite. Each disc is topped with a cute single peanut and anchovy for extra texture, and we could taste the fragrant belacan (fermented shrimp paste) blend in this. Though it can’t replace a sedap nasi lemak meal, this is a decent substitute till you can escape the CNY visit at your relative’s house to chow down on the real deal.

As luxe as a turnip cake gets. A wheel of moist, tender kueh infused with the mellow notes of the root vegetable. It’s decadently topped with a plump Australian abalone, shredded dried scallops, dried shrimp and preserved Chinese sausages. So packed with seafood-y flavours that all you need to do is steam it and pair it with a dab of good quality soy sauce for a satisfying snack.

Order at least three days in advance. Available till Feb 19 at Takashimaya Chinese New Year Bazaar, B2 Atrium, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, 391A Orchard Rd, S238873 and two Peony Jade outlets including 3 River Valley Rd, S179020. Tel: 6338- 0305. www.peonyjade.com.sg.

5/9

5/9

Nutkins Black Pepper Crab and Baked Prawn Nuts, $5 a 100g pack

The founder of Singaporean popcorn brand The Kettle Gourmet has launched more snackable morsels, this time, flavoured peanuts in local flavours like Black Pepper Crab and Baked Prawn. Each nut comes with a crunchy flour shell coated with seasoning. Not bad, but we prefer the Black Pepper Crab flavour, which does taste kinda like the spicy zi char dish. The Baked Prawn flavour, meanwhile, barely tasted of the crustacean. The Kettle Gourmet’s popcorn is still yummier than this, we think.

Bak hu (pork floss) on kueh lapis? Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. We adore the delicious kueh dadar and lempur (steamed glutinous rice with meat filling) from Ollella, which also offers kueh lapis in mod renditions like salted egg yolk and Nutella. Chicken floss is the young baker-owner’s latest creation (she has Indonesian roots). Rich, buttery kueh lapis is showered with a generous layer of meaty floss, which gives the layered cake an umami, savoury kick. Interesting, though not necessarily for everyone. “It’s quite nice, but strange,” mused our colleague who preferred kueh lapis in its original glory. Get it if you wanna start a conversation during CNY visits that’s not about your love life or salary.

After introducing mala-spiked potato chips and cassava chips to Singaporeans, local mala snack brand Ooh has branched out into offering deep-fried crab sticks and peanuts tossed in — what else — Sichuan peppercorn mala seasoning, for CNY. If you’re the sort who likes to snort fire just from eating a chip, go for this. It’s gratifyingly spicy (its founder is a mala fiend who tells us he eats the spiciest level of mala xiang guo each time. Respect). The pulled chunks of crab sticks, fried to a crisp, are also not too greasy, with a nice crunch.

It ain’t a snack fest unless there’s something salted egg yolk-flavoured involved. These cookies from Goodwood Park hotel are a moment on the lips, but worth a lifetime on the hips. Each morsel has the delicate, crumbly texture of lemak kueh bangkit loaded with salted egg yolk’s rich, umami fragrance. Pretty yummy and appropriately decadent for CNY, we say.

The craze for mala continues here, with local French patisserie Antoinette offering its gourmet version of mala chips. Antoinette’s chef-owner Pang Kok Keong created a mala seasoning using seven types of peppers including the Sichuan lantern pepper and bullet head peppers. Proper spicy with slightly floral notes, but what we like most is the chip’s texture. The potatoes are sliced to impossibly delicate slivers such that it crunches gently when we bite into them. They then crumble with a mildly tongue-searing aftertaste. Pity about the plain, generic plastic red-lidded container packaging, though.